I am also far more to the left than democrats, but I support them mainly because of their environmental policies. And of course, the biggest reason: They aren't republicans. Anything is better than a republican.
I'm a Democrat because the US has this archaic two party system and it is better than the other party. My heart goes out to the Greens who will get burned out in a few more electoral cycles going up against a near consitutional requirement that there be only two parties who can do more than play the spoiler, giving us guys like Dubya. Another way of putting it is I'm a Democrat because I believe a Republican is someone who can't enjoy a good meal unless they know someone else is hungry. I don't see a virtue in selfishness.
I believe in protecting the environment. If not because it is the right thing to do, then because polluted air hurts people just as much as it does nature. I think that if businesses aren't regulated, you are just asking for trouble. Why do they want loose restrictions? To make more money, which is not such a big deal, and so that they don't have legal grounds to get sued on when they screw up. If Republicans had their way, this country would become Christian only. Not really, but I'm sure supporters like the Christian Right wish they could do it. Rush Limbaugh. . . Pat Buchanan, Jerry Falwell, Pat Roberts, Billy Grahm. . . I don't believe the BS that Republicans want to cut taxes, they just don't want that money going to the poor. Corporate welfare anyone? How much does the military pay for a toilet seat again? I'm a compassionate liberal. I don't like policies that have been introduced lately like kicking out an entire family from public housing if one member is convicted of drug use.
You're obviously a deep-thinking guy, but your credibility is heading for the window with this kind of junk.
I was raised as an Episcopalian/Catholic/Greek Orthodox confused kid. The one thing that those churches pointed out was to be nice to other people and to respect God's creation. The fundamentalist church (as defined by my experiences in Greenville, SC) was an absurd foil in which people constantly said "n-----" and "God hates you. Be afraid of God". These people also labeled themselves 'republicans', so at an early age I equated all of the idiocies of being an uneducated Southerner with being a republican (I should point out the logical break in my experience. All republicans in my youth used racial epithets. However, many of those republicans were also Catholics, etc.). Being amenable to the Democrats at an early age, I made sense of various portions of their platform and realized that we are just smarter than everyone else. Honestly, there aren't that many differences between people in the republican and democratic parties. There are core people in the center with a bunch of common sense, and then the party leaders are dragged by self preservation and their own interest groups to make it look as if the sky is falling if the other guy gets elected. Would I ever vote as a republican? Probably not. Even with the corporate whores of my party (Clinton, etc.) I trust the absurdities in my party (welfare/inability to concede tort reform) much more than I do the absurdities of the republicans (even bigger corporate whores/gun laws that contradict common sense (see Utah)/segregationism /environmental rape/etc.)
Are you upset since the statement puts Dems in a bad light? Or are you upset that this is an unfair complaint against Republicans? BTW, I am neither a Dem or Rep.
btw, I don't know which 'welfare' I was referring to as an absurdity for the democrats. Since we ended 'welfare' as we know it, I am honestly confused... maybe corporate welfare? hmmm... anyway.
Because Democrats have always been nice to me. I must say the if it ends up that Gephardt wins the democratic nomination and runs against George, I would have to vote for Bush over Dick.
I'm a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. But, between the two, I'd prefer to relate to the Democrats.
I am not a strait democrat, but Democrats are slightly more inclined to protect key freedoms, slightly more likely to reach out to the disenfranchised, and slightly more likely to view policies from how they impact the larger society/community over special interests.
